Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission

Summary

Established by the Saudi government to assist Saudi students in the United States, the Saudi American Cultural Mission (SACM) is located at 8500 Hilltop Rd. in Fairfax, VA. In addition to providing support to students, SACM fosters cultural, scientific, and academic research exchanges between American colleges and universities and their Saudi Arabian counterparts. Since its establishment under the auspices of the Saudi Arabian Mission to the United Nations in 1951, the organization has seen ongoing modernization and advancement. Operating as the Saudi Cultural Office in America, the organization initially attended to the welfare of less than 50 students and occupied its first independent offices in New York in 1956. Nineteen years later, the organization was renamed the Saudi Educational Office to the U.S.A. concurrent with its move to Houston. SACM introduced early computer technologies in 1977 to assist in a growing volume of academic, financial, and administrative tasks. Over the next decade, the main office was relocated to Washington, D.C., and branches were established in Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, and Houston. By 1988, all branch offices were consolidated into the office now doing business from 8500 Hilltop Rd. in Fairfax, VA. It was at this time that the Saudi American Cultural Mission adopted its present name. While SACM’s Fairfax, VA, offices are presently attached to the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C., its administrative, reporting, financial, and student affairs operations report to the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Today, SACM continues to serve the Saudi student community and their dependents while encouraging positive cultural and academic relations between both nations.